The past few weeks, I’ve focused on the situation on PCH in Malibu, where at least some local leaders seem to feel cyclists on PCH are a problem. Whether because a sizable percentage seem to be in the habit of running red lights, or simply because we’re in their way.

Or maybe because we exist.

Meanwhile, many PCH riders point to problems with bad road design, overly inflated and inadequately enforced speed limits, and self-entitled drivers who neglect the law and refuse to concede even a small portion of the roadway, regardless of what the law says. And point out that, as annoying as red light running cyclists may be, they have yet to result in a single death on PCH — unlike the long list of fatalities stemming from drivers behaving badly.

As part of that discussion, I’ve allowed Malibu Public Safety Commissioner Chris Frost, and lawyer and frequent PCH rider Stanley E. Goldich to address the issues from their own perspectives, unencumbered by any restrictions on my part.

And therein lies the problem.

I’ve spent the last few weeks fighting a backchannel battle with people who a) think that if I allow someone else to express their opinion on here, it somehow reflects my own thinking, and b) question why I would let them to say the things they did.

Let’s take the last part first.

When I allow someone else to write on here, I want them to feel free to express whatever they think. And so I promise to publish whatever they send me, with no editing, changes or comments on my part.

As long as they don’t get offensive or cross over into personal attacks, I stick to that — whether or not I agree with what their opinions. Anything else would be censorship, which is something I just don’t believe in.

And that takes us back to the first point.

The opinions other people express on here are theirs and theirs alone. I don’t tell them what to say any more than I tell them what to think.

And they may or may not reflect my own thinking on the matter.

For instance, having spoken with him at length, I don’t believe Chris Frost “seeks to misuse his position as a safety commissioner to threaten and punish cyclists who do not comply with his views and makes up facts to justify this,” as Goldich wrote.

I may disagree with any enforcement efforts that single out law-breaking cyclists without an equal or greater focus on dangerous drivers, who have the potential to cause far greater harm. But I truly believe Frost’s motivation stems from a concern for the safety of cyclists, and that he believes observing the law is the way to achieve that.

I also don’t believe, as Frost wrote, that we are under any obligation to be ambassadors for our sport or police it ourselves, any more than drivers need to police other drivers or operate their machines in a way that reflects positively on all motorists — as nice as that might be.

At the same time, experience has taught me that a driver’s experiences with cyclists — positive or otherwise — can influence how they treat other riders down the road.

It shouldn’t, but it does.

I’ve had too many discussions with drivers who apologized for their actions on the road, blaming it on anger at a rider they encountered minutes or miles earlier, to think otherwise.

But in each case, I respect the respective opinions of the writers. And believe that there’s something we can learn from them, whether I happen to agree or not.

I also believe in a free and open discussion of the issues. Because as unpleasant as it may be at times, that’s the only way we can see things from the other person’s perspective.

And reach a resolution that works for everyone.

And that you deserve the opportunity to see both sides, and decide for yourself.

As for last night’s discussion of the Malibu Public Safety Commission, word from PSC members is that it was a great meeting with an open discussion of both bike and driver safety. Meanwhile, at least some of the bicyclists in the room felt that their comments were ignored, and that the meeting was a waste of time.

Somehow, I’m not surprised.

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